This Mother’s Day craft combines pretty + easy + useful. Wait a second – useful?! Yes, because the flowers, you see, are actually pens. And you know that you never have a pen handy when you need one. So, let’s give Mom some pretty flower pens, shall we?

I’m excited about this craft because it’s got all of the things I love about crafts:
– it’s easy (and kid friendly) and quick to make
– it’s pretty
– and you can make lots of different versions of it

And, it’s pretty cheap to make, too.

Supplies:

Flowers (Cut down the stems ahead of time with some wire cutters or garden pruning shears; the flowers should be 8″ – 10″ or so)
3″ terra cotta flower pots
Floral tape
Coffee beans
Ballpoint pens (without their caps)
Optional: paint & paint brush for the flower pots

I painted the pots first, using two or three coats per pot; the paint dries quickly. I kept the pots very simple, but you can easily imagine all the different ways you or your kids could personalize the pots (stickers, fabric, rhinestones, metallic paint, etc.)

When you are done decorating your pot, plug the hole in the bottom (I just covered it with a piece of paper), fill the pot with coffee beans, and set aside.

Line up the pen with the flower, leaving the tip of the pen just a little lower than the flower stem. Begin taping with a strip of floral tape, starting near the tip of the pen and moving up.

Floral tape is stretchy, so stretch it a little as you are wrapping it around the pen and flower, and wrap the two tightly. Keep wrapping all the way until you get to the top of the pen – be sure to cover up the end of it with the tape.

Once you are done taping your flower pens, insert them into the pots and you are done. You can do one pen per pot, or put several pens in one pot. Both options look pretty. You might also add some leaves or other decorations (like a little Happy Mother’s Day note) to the pot.

Who wouldn’t want to use this pretty pen?

This was my first time working with floral tape, and I didn’t realize it is slightly sticky on both sides. I read that one way to reduce the stickiness once you are done is to very (very) lightly coat the tape with baby powder. I did this with a couple of the flowers but didn’t bother with the others – the tape is not that sticky.

These will look so cheerful sitting on Mom’s desk, or next to the telephone with a pad of paper (is that an old fashioned thing to suggest?)

I got this idea from Elena’s pre-K teacher, who had the kids make these for us. That was 4 years ago, but I’ve still got my red rose pen sitting on my desk.

These would also make an excellent gift for your kids’ teachers. And if you’re looking for other teacher gift ideas, the Giver’s Log (an excellent blog, if you’re not familiar with it), offers this list of 50 Gifts Kids Can Make for Teachers.